The God Who Answers

(Part 3 of 3)

“Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again, he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.”

                                                                                                            I Kings 18:30-35

Glancing at this passage, one might assume that Elijah was sabotaging his own miracle! Pouring water over his sacrifice certainly wasn’t going to make lighting a fire easier. Elijah, however, didn’t just pour water over his sacrifice once. He poured water over it   three times. He poured and poured until the trench at the base of the altar filled up.  Why was Elijah doing this? He was preparing for God to answer!

Sometimes we pray and pray and wonder why God doesn’t answer. Often, it is because we are not in a position to receive. I remember tossing a ball to my son when he was just a little boy. I would tell him to put his hands out in front of him. When he extended his arms I would release the ball. I didn’t toss it to him until he was in position to receive it. A child who stands there and doesn’t put their arms out is either unwilling to receive or unprepared to receive. Elijah’s pouring of gallons of water over his sacrifice was a clear indication that he was ready for God to answer.

Elijah’s actions declared that he expected something! He didn’t expect to pray and feel a warm breeze. Neither was he looking for a small spark to fall down from heaven. No, Elijah expected the fire of heaven to fall on that altar. Elijah knew that he could have built his altar in the bottom of the ocean and God could have sent down a fire ball that licked up the waters and consumed his sacrifice!

When it came time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah stepped forward and declared:

“Answer me, O Lord; answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.”

                                                                                                            1 Kings 18:37-38

Elijah prayed like a man who knew that he served a God who hears and a God who answers! If we desire to see our prayer lives become powerful and effective we must remove the obstacle of sin, so God can hear us; we must stop wavering between two opinions, regarding who has the answer; and we must position ourselves to receive.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

The God Who Answers

(Part 2)

“Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing.”

                                                                                                1 Kings 18:21

 Too often we waver between believing God and believing Baal! What is Baal? Baal is, most certainly, a false god; but it is also anything we trust in rather than God or above God.  Elijah demonstrated unwavering faith in God. The depth of Elijah’s faith is seen 1 Kings 18: 25-29:

“Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”

Around midday, Elijah began to “bust their chops” a little bit. He taunted them to shout louder and he ridiculed their behavior.  As I read this, I thought to myself, these are big words from a man who still had a heap to pray over himself! However, Elijah knew from the start that nothing was going to happen for them. They shouted, danced, slashed themselves and frantically prophesied for hours and hours:

“But there was no response, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”

                                                                                                1 Kings 18:29

After allowing everyone to see that worshipping Baal was futile, Elijah then began to make provision for God’s answer! Before he prays a single word, Elijah begins to make preparations to receive from God. Elijah dug a trench, built an altar, arranged the wood and prepared the sacrifice; but then he does something unusual. Elijah, then, drowns the sacrifice, wood, and altar with water. He pours on so much water that the trench surrounding the altar fills up. He was so convinced that God was about to answer that he actually poured gallons of water on his own sacrifice. Elijah wanted to be certain that no one was mistaken! The god who answers? He is God!

 Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

The God Who Answers

(Part 1)

“Answer me, O Lord; answer me, so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord- He is God! The Lord-He is God!”

                                                                                                1 Kings 18:37-39

Over the last several weeks we have learned a lot about the prophet Elijah. One thing we have learned is that he was an ordinary man, just like us, with an extraordinary prayer life. One reason for this was Elijah believed he served a God who hears. Isaiah 59:1 states:

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.”

However, we also learned that we can sabotage our own prayer life by living in sin:

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”

                                                                                                      Isaiah 59:2

It isn’t a lack of faith or doubt that hinders God hearing us, it is sin. Sin silences our petitions. Today we want to learn another truth from Elijah’s powerful prayer life. Elijah believed he served a God who answers! In 1 Kings 18:16-24, Elijah is speaking with King Ahab. In obedience to God, Elijah prayed and there has been no rain in Israel for months. Israel had become steeped in Baal worship. Prior to the drought, they had been attributing the rain and abundant crops to Baal, so God sent a prophet to confront their idolatry.  Israel, God’s chosen people, was wavering between two opinions and an epic showdown was about to unfold on Mt. Carmel. Elijah calls for the 450 prophets of Baal to join him. Two choice bulls are chosen. They are each cut to pieces and placed on a pile of wood- one for Elijah and one for the prophets of Baal. Elijah declared:

 “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire- he is God.”

                                                                                                1 Kings 18:24

Although severely outnumbered, Elijah never wavered. He wasn’t looking for answers from anything or anyone else, but the Lord his God. Regardless of what the majority believed, he knew that his God was about to answer!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

The God Who Hears

(Part 3 of 3)

 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears attentive to their prayers.”

                                                                                                1 Peter 3:12

In order for God to hear us, righteousness must permeate our prayer lives. Peter tells us that God’s ears are attentive to the righteous; meaning that God is heedful, mindful, thoughtful, and observant to the prayers of those who walk in right standing with Him. Throughout the Old and New Testament the passages regarding God hearing our prayers being coupled to righteousness are prevalent:

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

                                                                                                James 5:16

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.”

                                                                                                Proverbs 15:29

And, in 1 Timothy 2:8, Paul declares:

“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”

Probably the most notable passage, however, is 2 Chronicles 7:14:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Notice what must happen before God declares that He will hear from heaven. Men must humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways. God cannot answer what He does not hear. He cannot hear what we have silenced by our own sinfulness. When we humble ourselves before God, seek His face and repent of our sins 1 John 1:9 states:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

When we repent God cleanses us from our unrighteousness. He hears, forgives and answers! Repentance paves the way to a powerful prayer life. As God’s people we must humble ourselves and pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. God is ready to answer!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

The God Who Hears

(Part 2 of 3)

 "Do not be afraid, Daniel, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”

                                                                                                  Daniel 10:12

The idea that we serve a God who hears was not isolated to Elijah. Here we read in Daniel 10 how the angel of the Lord told Daniel that his words were heard the first day he prayed them. In Acts 10:31 a man in shining clothes appeared to Cornelius and declared:

“Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.”

In fact, in John 11:41-42, Jesus said:

“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here that they may believe that you sent me.”

Elijah, Daniel, Cornelius and Jesus all prayed and believed that their words were being heard! They understood a valuable principle found in Isaiah 59:1:

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor his ear too dull to hear.”

It is God’s desire to hear us. He is supremely capable of hearing. There is nothing lacking in the prayer equation on God’s part. Yet, knowing this, many of our prayers seem to go unheard. The revelation of the problem is found in Isaiah 59:2:

“But your iniquities have separated your from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”

According to this passage, it isn’t a lack of faith or doubt that hinders God from hearing us. It is sin! Sin silences our petitions. Before we begin to question why God may not have answered our prayers, we have to ask ourselves if there is anything in our life that would have caused Him not to hear us. We can sabotage our own prayer life by not dealing with sin. The key to God hearing us is tied to righteousness.

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

The God Who Hears

(Part 1 of 2)

 “Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing he son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.”

                                                                                                            1 Kings 17:17-22

When we get to 1 Kings 17, we read how God commanded Elijah to speak judgment over disobedient Israel. Israel had fallen into Baal worship, who they believed was responsible for the rain and abundant crops. So God sends a messenger by the name of Elijah to prophesy that there would be no rain for 3 ½ years except by his word. During this time God provided for Elijah during the drought. First, God feeds Elijah by ravens and then he is fed by the widow of Zarapath. Although it is the last of her oil and flour she obediently provides for God’s servant. As a result her cruse of oil and jar of flour did not run dry.  While Elijah is staying with them, the widow’s son dies. In the midst of the miracle of “oil and flour” this tragedy takes place. Elijah scoops us the boy and cries out to God: “O Lord, My God, Let this boy’s life return to him.”

And the scripture tells us, that the Lord “heard” Elijah’s cry. What made Elijah so special that God heard him when he prayed? James 5: 17- 18 tells us:

“Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for 3 ½ years. Again he prayed and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its crops.”

What made Elijah powerful in prayer was not his education or his pedigree. He was simply an ordinary man who believed a couple things about God. One thing he believed is that he served a God who hears! Prayer is nothing but an exercise in futility if we do not believe that God hears us when we pray. Repeatedly throughout the Psalms, King David cried out to God: “Be merciful and hear my prayers,” Psalm 4:1; “Give ear to my prayer,” Psalm 17:1; “Hear my prayer O Lord,” Psalm 86:6. The first key to fervent, effective prayer is to know that God hears us when we pray!

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

So Close, Yet So Far Away

(Part 2 of 2)

 “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

                                                                                                            Matthew 19:16-20

As we study the story of the rich young ruler we make an alarming discovery. You can be 80% right and still be 100% wrong. The young man in this story did a lot of things right. First, he was asking the right question. He realized that there had to be more to his spiritual life than a bunch of do’s and don’ts.  Second, he approached the right person with his question. If anyone would be able to answer the question of eternal life, it would be Jesus. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End! He, obviously, led a very moral life. The fact he could claim to have never murdered, committed adultery, stolen, or lied coupled with his commitment to honor his father, mother and neighbors placed this man on a high moral plain. This adherence to the Law also indicates that he was a religious man familiar with God, the Word of God and the people of God. Overall, most of us would have been pleased to have this man live next door to us. Surely, this man was “in the kingdom?”

What happened next, however, goes to show just how easy it is to be near the kingdom of God, yet not be in it:

“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 19:21-22

The young man was unwilling to give up everything to follow Jesus. He had his hand on the threshold of the entrance of God’s Kingdom, but never entered it. He had something in his life he loved more than God. How about you? Are you “in God’s Kingdom?” Have you repented of your sins and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Moral goodness, good deeds, church attendance, and serving others will bring you near, but you must be willing to give up everything to follow Christ in order to enter in.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/